Poneglyphs

The Sea Forest lay northeast of the Fish-Man District. Unlike the Fish-Man District, which was completely exposed to the deep sea, this place basked in sunlight and fresh air.

This was Mobius's destination. Led by the local Hatchan, he arrived here together with Shyarly.

Looking around, the Sea Forest lived up to its name. Thanks to the sunlight carried down by Sun Tree Eve, countless beautiful corals grew here in dense clusters like a forest, while many schools of fish foraged among them.

Yet beneath that beauty lay countless battered wrecks, adding a touch of chilliness.

At a depth of ten thousand meters beneath the sea, innumerable sunken ships had been buried, their shattered hulls swept here by the currents.

Thus, the Sea Forest was also known as the "Ship Graveyard."

Mobius's gaze passed over the vast number of shipwreck remains. In theory, with so many wrecks accumulated here, there should have been quite a few buried treasures.

But after soaking in seawater for so long, those treasures had likely lost much of their value. Mobius had no time to go searching for them.

His goal was extremely clear.

"Are these the two things you're looking for, Mobius?"

Hatchan led Mobius before a towering coral formation, where two enormous cubes stood side by side, one gray and one red, their surfaces engraved with mysterious writing.

Poneglyphs were indestructible stone tablets created during the Void Century. They were divided into two types: the four Road Poneglyphs, which recorded information about Laugh Tale's location, and the twenty-six Poneglyphs, which recorded the history of the Void Century.

These two Poneglyphs were part of the history passed down through generations on Fish-Man Island. The royal family had always preserved their knowledge, and King Neptune knew that the ordinary Poneglyph contained an apology letter written by a man named Joy Boy.

However, Neptune did not know what the writing specifically meant. It was only when the Roger Pirates came here several years ago that it was translated.

But even after learning what was written on them, Neptune did not care much. The One Piece was far too distant from them, and as for information about Poseidon, the royal family had its own inheritance.

The two stones had remained here all along. Many ordinary Fish-Man Island residents knew about them and simply regarded them as a curiosity.

In everyone's eyes, aside from being nearly impossible to destroy, these stone tablets were no different from the display rocks found in schools.

Hatchan was baffled. During their journey, he had become acquainted with Mobius through their conversations, close enough that they addressed each other by name, but he had no idea why Mobius had come all this way to find these two huge stones.

"Yeah, these are exactly what I was looking for. Thanks, Hatchan."

Mobius thanked him as darkness gradually surfaced in his hand.

"Let me ask you something. These things aren't useful to Fish-Man Island, right?"

Hatchan honestly shook his head. Not just him—every Fish-Man Island resident who knew of these two stones had no idea what they were for.

"Then that's fine."

Mobius smiled in relief, then reached out and drew the two Poneglyphs into his body with darkness, storing them away for the time being.

Mobius glanced over the writing on them. Great, he could not understand a single word. It seemed the doctor had not secretly taught him the ancient language after all.

In the future, the red Poneglyph among Fish-Man Island's two Poneglyphs would vanish without a trace. According to information leaked by the Blackbeard Pirates, it was supposedly in the hands of a man with burn scars.

Yet even now, the identity of that man with burn scars had not been revealed.

Mobius was naturally very interested in the One Piece. It was known that Big Mom had one, Wano Country had one, Zunesha on Zou had one, and Fish-Man Island had this one.

The locations of the other three were very clear. When the time came, he only needed to take them directly.

When Hatchan saw Mobius casually take away both stone tablets, his eyes nearly popped out.

"Mobius, what was that..."

"Oh, my Devil Fruit ability."

Mobius casually explained.

Hatchan wiped the sweat trickling down his forehead. He could not only control water, but had an ability like this too?

How terrifying~

Although Hatchan wondered why Mobius had traveled so far just to move some stones, he stopped thinking about it when he could not figure it out. They were not important anyway.

"Where are we going next, Mobius? Where do you want to look around?"

"Next..."

Mobius's eyes flickered for a few moments before he smiled at Shyarly.

"Shyarly, could I trouble you to use your amazing fortune-telling ability again? I want to know whether there are any Devil Fruits on Fish-Man Island."

Since Vander Decken IX in the future was a Mark-Mark Fruit user, there had to be a Mark-Mark Fruit somewhere on Fish-Man Island.

That fruit's ability was fairly good too. If he could get it, Mobius would not let it slip away.

"Huh? There's a Devil Fruit on Fish-Man Island?"

Shyarly blinked her large eyes. This was the first time she had realized such a thing was possible.

"In theory, anywhere with fruit has a chance of producing a Devil Fruit."

Based on the appearance of the Axolotl Fruit in the original story, any ordinary fruit could transform into a Devil Fruit. Ten thousand meters beneath the sea was no exception.

Shyarly nodded her little head. She did not quite understand, but since Mobius said so, she would do it.

"Mobius, do you care a lot about Devil Fruits?" Hatchan could not help asking from the side.

"Of course. They're power, after all~ Hatchan, just as I told you before, skill is important. They say four ounces can deflect a thousand pounds."

"But the prerequisite is that you need those four ounces first."

"Your physique lags far too far behind your skill."

Mobius patted Hatchan's shoulder and spoke earnestly.

"Eat more and train more. Build up your body as soon as possible. Only then can you better bring out the power of your skills. Look at Jinbe—that's what a strong build looks like."

Hearing Mobius say that, Hatchan fell silent as well.

Because of his inherited techniques, Hatchan had always strictly controlled his diet and weight, afraid that going overboard would affect his agility.

But hearing Mobius say this now... had there been something wrong with the way he trained?

Of course there was!

If Mobius could hear Hatchan's thoughts, he would definitely say that.

At the Corrida Colosseum, Hatchan had faced Bartolomeo. His fist had been injured by the Barrier-Barrier Fruit's defensive rebound. That alone showed how frail his body was.

Having made up his mind, Hatchan trusted a strong man like Mobius and resolved to eat more in the future, building a physique like Jinbe's!

At that moment, Shyarly lowered the crystal ball in her hands and opened her eyes again, her tone filled with surprise.

"I saw it. There really is a Devil Fruit on Fish-Man Island!"

"Really?"

Mobius asked, though he was utterly certain. Fortune-tellers really were useful!

"Where is it?"

Shyarly raised a slender pale finger and pointed toward the distant pile of wrecks in the Sea Forest.

"It's in that pile of sunken ships."

Meanwhile.

"Bahehehe! Put more strength into it! Turn over these sunken ships! The wealth belongs to Vander Decken!"